The wise Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said, “To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, subtract things every day.” While we certainly desire knowledge and need objects in order to physically survive, having and gaining more and more material can easily get out of hand. There are over 300,000 items in the average American home, and one in five Americans rent storage units, even after the size of the average home has tripled!
This is largely due to the fact that humans are naturally prone to want stuff, a trait closely associated with our evolutionary survival tactics, along with modern culture and economics. To counter this natural human urge, Hindu monks spend around seven years getting rid of everything they own until they are left with two robes, two bowls and two spoons. But this overwhelming and seemingly impossible feat isn’t required to build a more minimalistic mindset or find peace in an increasingly materialistic world.
The answer lies in awareness of our increasing piles of stuff and action—even just small choices that can reset our minds and clear our mental and physical space. Although our physical possessions can often offer confidence, comfort and connection, attaining and attaching ourselves to stuff distracts, distorts and disrupts our lives, proving that materialism is not the best solution to our problems.
THE HISTORY
Our impulse to possess—acquisitiveness—dates back thousands of years, with scientists and psychologists alike tying it to Darwin’s theory of evolution. Steve Taylor, senior lecturer in psychology at Leeds Beckett University, wrote that limited natural resources made it necessary for early human beings to compete and try to claim as much as they could while they could. The “restlessness and constant wanting which fuels our materialism” is an evolutionary mechanism that helps us stay alert.
Our evolutionary habits of intense observance—developed to improve our survival chances—helped prevent other creatures from taking the advantage. One such habit, collecting and keeping food, especially when it’s hard to get, was—and still is—a major survival tactic for us and other animals. Remember the crazy hoarding that happened during Covid? Same idea.
Nick Neave, an evolutionary psychologist, says it’s the same with weapons and tools. If we lived in the world with absolutely nothing, we would be practically powerless. Our possessions make survival possible. Our ancestors didn’t have gleaming fangs, razor claws or hard shells, but they could use things to make weapons and armor to protect themselves, which molded the human habit to turn to materialism when feeling vulnerable.
THE ECONOMY
Especially in America, the consumer culture surrounding us has a negative influence on our already-acquisitive personalities. This materialistic society eggs us on to buy more and more. Soon enough, our wants—in our eyes—become needs. In this modernized world, we’re exposed to more ads than ever before. Today, people are exposed to 4,000 to 10,000 ads a day, compared with the meager amount of 500 to 1500 in the 1970s. Digital tools have created an entire digital storefront; online shopping makes buying easier than ever before.
Social media fuels comparison and exposes us to products we didn’t even know existed. Ads and social media alike don’t just sell products, they sell lifestyles, adding to the lure of acquiring such products, even though it’s impossible to truly attain what we believe these objects can offer us.
Over the course of history, there have been many ways to demonstrate our success and superiority. Unfortunately our social economic system channels this want to prove success so the way to demonstrate it is by proving our wealth. Proving wealth is easiest done with objects—physical stuff that you can see, hold, and feel. And in a world where slogans, products, and brands are demanding our attention, it becomes that much more difficult to stay out of the materialist trap which this society has created.
ATTACHMENT
Things can simply be useful, and often provide sentimental attachment that is normal and even good. Studies have shown that our sense of self can change our level of attachment to personally meaningful possessions. With lower self-confidence, our attachment to stuff increases; when we feel good about ourselves, we’re more willing to let go.
Our relationships with others can help us understand who we are, but can also affect our need to have. Social psychologist Ian Norris explains that “When relationships are unstable or unfulfilling, people may lack the connection they need, [attaching] meaning to products that fill the void.” We have a tendency to reach for things when people we care about let us down. Although objects can’t show compassion, they are always under our control, allowing us to count on them.
Tangible objects that we bring into our lives can create a “psychological salve” to replace the comfort that we lack, compensating for our deficiencies and helping us live and learn when circumstances or people get in the way.
THE DANGER
Despite the wonderful things possessions can provide for us, there are very real dangers that come with acquiring and accumulating things—especially because this habit can so easily get out of hand. This is true even when these things are attained for good reasons. “Everything we own requires a bit of ourselves.”
Put simply, things cost. Our possessions not only cost us money, but they eat away at our time, energy and focus. They become both a physical and mental distraction. For example, research has shown that being in a messy room will make you twice as likely to eat a chocolate bar than an apple.
Even small amounts of clutter can influence our behavior. While we may not realize it, our possessions are flooding our minds and sucking away our time. Stuff affects anxiety levels, sleep and focus ability because the distraction of clutter can cause cognitive overload. Ownership tasks us with maintenance and financial worries, often shifting focus away from more meaningful or important aspects of life.
As it turns out, there’s a negative correlation between life satisfaction and clutter. It’s not that possessions won’t make you happy–the happiness that can be found in material items is real, but happiness is just a mood. Isn’t what we’re all looking for deeper than that?
We may try to convince ourselves that our stuff is neither here nor there when it comes to our wellbeing, but excess possessions aren’t indifferent to our happiness. Instead they build a barrier to it, which would explain why they reduce feelings of fulfillment and real happiness. The things that we seek happiness from are actually what’s taking our happiness from us.
Our materialistic obsessions create a blockade, not only causing problems, but preventing solutions. What seems like harmless accumulation gradually becomes a quiet barrier between us and the kind of fulfillment we are really searching for. Things are nice, but they bog us down and keep us from what could be so much better.
THE ANSWER
When people notice the overwhelm of STUFF, some will turn to minimalism. Although minimalism is frequently misunderstood, and often mistaken for deprivation, striving to live in this scaled back way doesn’t just mean focusing on having less. The Minimalist podcasters have distilled down the true meaning of minimalism, explaining that minimalists don’t just focus on having less. Instead they focus on making room for more: more time, more passion, more experiences, more growth, more contribution, more contentment and more freedom.
Leidy Klotz, a professor at the University of Virginia, backs up this idea, explaining that you can create positive changes in your life without gaining more stuff. He found that when we want to make an improvement in our lives, we overwhelmingly add, overlooking the option to subtract from what is already there. Subtraction is often actually an equally valid way to make a change, but Klotz’s research shows that people often neglect this option and look toward adding as the solution to problems, even when it would cost time, money, or space.
Although having less may require more effort at first, letting go can ultimately be refreshing and worthwhile. Adding is tempting because of the sugar-rush thrill of acquiring stuff, but that feeling quickly fades. Although materialists still experience positive emotions after making a purchase, these emotions are actually less intense than before they acquire the product. In contrast, subtraction removes sources of stress completely, and doesn’t just cover them up with superficial, transient gratification.
Likewise, experiences can provide real joy without requiring the addition of more possessions. Considering that the act of shopping can be fun in and of itself and can give us emotional highs, it seems that, even in the case of obtaining, EXPERIENCES are what actually make us happier than stuff.
Renowned psychologist Daniel Gilbert says that although we think that experiences can be fun, we are often disappointed because they leave us with nothing to show for them. “But that turns out to be a good thing,” he explains. In light of the fact that stuff–while trying to be the fix—literally and figuratively “piles up” in the way of our lives, it seems that doing can be the solution to both our junk heaps and emotional voids.
Instead of stuff, if we sought entertainment, experiences and people for support and comfort, we could more easily find real fulfillment. The satisfaction we often look for in things, along with the peace that comes from having fewer possessions, could be found in these sources instead. In order to achieve this higher level of contentment, we need to carefully choose what we allow to occupy our time and attention.
Pursuing aspirations and interests that create fulfillment for us. They should appeal to our identities, values and beliefs. If we can endeavor to be more choosy about what we fill our lives with, only seeking out things that deeply satisfy us, we will find less value in stuff, and more value in experiences, relationships, learning, observing, making and growing.
Other research proves that out of nine studied categories of consumption, leisure was the only one positively associated with happiness. Evidently, we tend to value experiences more because they provide longer-lasting satisfaction compared to simply buying or having objects.
Because our self-esteem and our stuff have a two-way connection, becoming less materialistic will allow our well-being to improve. And when that improves, we tend to be less materialistic. Striving to create and abide in safe and uplifting environments, letting go of materialistic tendencies and embracing deep-rooted sources of true satisfaction can help us start a cycle of less. Getting in this habit might take discipline, but a more minimalistic mindset and lifestyle pose numerous benefits to counter the chaos of the materialistic world we live in today.
On the surface, simply obtaining and keeping less material saves money, time, and space—whether that be from purchases, maintenance, or possessing. But living with less also helps reduce overconsumption and therefore excess production and waste, which benefits the environment. Doing this also benefits us mentally, having less things allows us to pursue true happiness. Material simplification offers clarity and peace that can lead to stronger relationships, less tension and greater fulfillment.
When we stop tying our value to what we own our sense of self-worth becomes stronger and more stable. Physical possessions can lend happiness and support, and it’s valid to say that we learn from and express ourselves through what we own. But what if we validated our lives by what we do and who we are instead? In the end, though knowledge might grow from gain, wisdom is forged as we learn to let go—subtracting so that what truly matters can remain.
